SINGAPOREANS express reservations about the foreigner influx on
practical grounds, usually jobs and income levels. Resenting
foreign undergraduates for the financial aid they receive is an odd
variant. It is unworthy. The disclosure by the National University
of Singapore that 40 per cent of bursaries awarded so far this year
went to foreigners was admittedly a surprise, even after accounting
for one-quarter of its 23,000 undergraduate enrolment being
non-Singaporean. Bursaries are unlike high-value scholarships. They
are annual stipends of $1,000 to $2,000 given to needy students to
pay for books, meals and incidentals. As a rule, foreigners get
less money per bursary. Moreover NUS says no Singaporeans who
qualified have been refused help. They get preference. This put
right a disagreeable situation last year when half of local
applicants were unsuccessful.
The locals' rant that the money comes from taxpayers and it should
therefore benefit only locals has a superficial appeal, but it
shows an incomplete understanding of an underlying issue.
Scholarships and various forms of supplementary aid are offered to
undergraduate and postgraduate students from Asia and elsewhere -
after locals' needs are met first, naturally - because the nation
gains from the exchange. It is a long-term investment, to say it
indelicately. Parliament was told last year that between 1996 and
1999, 60 per cent of foreign students who enrolled at universities
here and who received grants took up citizenship or permanent
residency after graduating. This is a high strike rate by any
measure. Of those who presumably returned home, Singapore would be
on their minds when they are in a position to make or influence
decisions in business, government, research or whichever field they
may have risen in. The art of cultivating transborder networks
through university ties is an old game played to great advantage by
old economies and liberal democracies. America for one has
benefited hugely. It is a form of soft power appeal. Singapore has
been slow getting into the race.
But, regardless, dismay and resentment will continue to bubble to
the surface. The irony is that in some cases it can be triggered by
the naturalisation of foreign alumni - the old 'competition'
bugbear all over. The universities can help assuage feelings by
being thorough in verifying the bona fides of foreign applicants,
not easy when establishing qualifying household income. Funding for
bursaries and other grants should be kept full, by drawing on their
endowment fund if need be. It will also help if locals bear in mind
the overwhelming taxpayer subsidy they receive in acquiring their
degrees.
(Straits Times 23 Nov)